Chai Tea Latte Cupcakes

Soooo...I made these on a whim and didn't write all the measurements (but remember some) but they came out delicious! I'll do my best to remember what I added but I encourage you to try to guestimate/have faith along the way hah.

Recipe makes about 18 cupcakes (and a gazillion mini cupcakes if you're into that)

Ingredients

• 1 box of extra moist white cake (I use Duncan Hines but have also used Baker's Corner brand you can get from Aldi)
• 2 tbsp melted butter (instead of oil)
• 1 1/3 cup of water (or so)
• 3 large egg whites (I used Eggland's Best Egg Whites-- so for this, 9 tbsp of egg whites. It is pasteurized so I tasted the batter here and there [using clean spoon] assuming the eggs whites were safe to eat raw; however, be careful with that biotin! haha)
• 3 tbsp chai tea latte mix (I actually used Trader Joe's Pumpkin Chai Tea Latte mix [so I guess these are actually pumpkin chai tea latte cupcakes...]! If you do not have chai tea latte mix, you can also brew a few chai tea bags in the water above--try it out!)
• Additional sprinklings of spices (cinnamon, ground clove, ground ginger, ground nutmeg)
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 tsp of almond extract
• 2-3 tbsp of instant coffee (add more to your liking)

For the frosting (optional):

• Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Vanilla (guestimate how much frosting you want! I scooped out about 1/2 to 3/4 cup)
• Assortment of spices to taste (cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg)--I kept sprinkling!
• Little snack bag with a small cut at the corner. I used this as a piping bag

Set oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-muffin tin with cupcake liners if you want. I also had an extra little one that holds 6 cupcakes (for a toaster oven) so I lined that too.

Mix the eggs, butter, and water then add the cake mix. Add your chai tea mix and coffee, extracts, and additional spices if needed. I tasted it because the egg whites were pasteurized but I would not recommend doing so! You do not have to add additional spices but I wanted more of the chai flavor to stand out so I used similar spices found in the mix.

Mix until there are no lumps. If it's too thick, add more water (I did this and it was fine). Fill the muffin tin until half full in each cupcake liner. If there is extra, add a little more to each one. I think this cake mix I used was for 24 cupcakes, but I just made 18 bigger cupcakes.

Place in oven and bake for about 12-15 minutes (check doneness with a toothpick). 

While that's baking, make the frosting! This easy peezy frosting was just vanilla frosting and I added all the same spices until it was fragrant and flavorful (try a bit to your taste!). I don't like too much frosting on my cupcakes, so I just used a piping bag (a.k.a., snack bag with a hole in the corner hah), and made a small swirl on top.

Remove the cupcakes from oven and let them cool! When they are cool, pipe some frosting on top and you are done! Store in airtight container at room temperature. 

Enjoy these fun little [sort of pumpkin]chai tea latte cupcakes!